You survived
by Sunflower62
Summary: Baby Noah turns 1 !


As always all mistakes are my own. It's just some fluff. Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed and favourited my other stories.

H 5 0 – H 5 0 – H 5 0

My darling boy Noah,

You survived your 1st year with us! You've grown into a strapping little man in spite of having mom and me for parents. Luckily you are still too young to realize how much we have winged things when the going got tough. Uncle Danny was there with his sage advice but Grace is a girl and I drew the line at following his advice when he suggested we bath you in baby lavender oil to help you sleep at night. I just couldn't do that to you little man. All the kids in the neighborhood would have teased you and I will absolutely not have that! So mom and I walked the house, up and down the stairs, down to the beach and that seemed to calm you on the nights when you just couldn't settle down.

I miss those nights when it was just the two of us and the big ocean. You loved being cuddled and held. I tried to tell you all the things I thought you needed to know, even though you will not remember the stories. Maybe I needed to tell you about them so that I kept your grandpa alive in my mind. You are too active now and you can't sit still for more than 3 minutes. Gone are the days when we could put you in your playpen with a couple of toys and books. It's like we are on a constant mission now to keep you out of the cupboards and out of the TV cabinet in case you pull over the TV or some ornament that your mom insists we need around the house to make it a bit more feminine. Woman! I still need to explain them to you but not for a while still. That gives me a couple of years to try and figure them out for myself.

What can I tell you about your 1st year with us? You are obviously a little overachiever as Uncle Danny calls you. Just because you decided at 11 months that you were tired of the crawling thing and decided walking was the fastest and easiest way to get from point A to point B and I'm sure you also decided that was the best way to see how quickly parents turned grey! We weren't ready for you to be walking so the house wasn't baby proof and that is how you ended up in the ER for your 1st stitches. You just got up, put 1 foot in front of the other and off you went until your little head met the side of TV cabinet.

I don't know who got the biggest fright, you, me or mom! Luckily for us Uncle Chen was visiting and he got a towel to stop the blood, got us all in the car and before we could say drama we were in the ER. I have never known such fear, not even on a mission. You looked so small lying on that hospital bed but we also saw what a little fighter you were and that you weren't ever going to let something or someone get you down. You smiled and gurgled at the staff as if nothing was wrong. They gave us some meds to take home in case you needed it, but let me tell you. I think we needed it more than you did. Mom and I stayed up the whole night just watching you making sure that everything was ok.

I love coming home to you and mom after a long day at the office. You are always ready to welcome me home when I walk through the front door. You in your mom's arms, little arms outstretched and screaming dadadada ! It makes me forget about the day and all the things we see that I hope you will never have to see in your life. You are normally so dirty from playing around all day and getting into everything. I can usually see what you had for your supper before bath time.

Night bath time has turned into our thing. Mom gets the morning bath and I have the honor of trying to clean you up in the evening. Let me tell you my boy that is sometimes a special ops mission because you can be the dirtiest little boy if you had a busy day. You love to just splash around and throw your toys around and when the time comes to get out we get to hear how clear your lungs are. Auntie Kono is convinced that you are going to be a Seal like me one day. Nothing would make me prouder but you go where your heart leads.

There is nothing like the smell of you after a bath. All good and clean and fresh and everything seems right with the world. Like the world is pure and good and there is nothing that could hurt you or Grace or Auntie Kono's baby Mika. I love sitting in the rocking chair giving you your last bottle before we put you down for the night. The trust that you have when you stare up at me sometimes scares me and I hope I am worthy of that trust.

It was right there in that rocking chair that you called me dada for the 1st time. You had been making mama noises for a while and I was scared that I was going to be last person on earth that you would name. It took my breath away when you were jumping up and down on my lap and said dada and touched my face. Now I know that could have been any old sound that came out of your little body but to this day I am convinced it was Dada and no one will tell me otherwise. I have never been prouder of anything in my life.

It hasn't just been moonlight and roses my boy. Let me tell you, you were a right royal terror when your teeth started coming in. Having McGarrett/Rollins blood in your veins you decided that you would have 3 coming out at the same time. I have never been so tired in my whole life, nor had my fingers chewed on. You would only calm down if you had something in your mouth and you even took to chewing on Uncle Danny's wretched ties when he came around some days after having been in court. He took it in his stride and just let you chew away. Let me tell you, that in itself is a miracle. Uncle Danny loves his ties and he would defend wearing them till the end of time. Some days I was so tired when I got to the office that I even had some malasadas with my morning coffee at the office to see if the sugar rush would keep me going for the day. You would sometimes settle down if we gave you your frozen tree to chew on. We made it through though and you are now the owner of 7 pearly whites. Like Uncle Danny said, little overachiever.

You had so much fun at your party this morning. You had more cake in your hair and on your little body than in your tummy. You found the balloons fascinating but we made sure they were out of reach because you would have found a way to put them in your mouth. Your Ohana spoiled you rotten and you got so many gifts, but you were mostly interested in the boxes they came in. Maybe we should keep some of the gifts and give them to you for Christmas. It's not like you will know the difference. As long as there is a box to play with you are happy.

It was easier to go and wash you off in the ocean than to try and bath you. The whole Ohana was in the water and your mom and I stood in the middle with you while they all blessed you and wished you nothing bit joy and happiness for the next 80 years.

It has been a joy to watch you grow this last year. It looks like you are going to be a strong willed, independent little man and I'm sure as you grow older we will definitely butt heads about your idea of right and wrong and our idea of right and wrong. Always remember that we love you unconditionally and if you follow your North Star then things will turn out like they should.

Always live a life that is honest and true.

Love Dad


End file.
